death_gone_mad | It's in the cards.

Creative Expression...

What the hell? Diviners always have to be so ... indirect. What did that card mean?

███████ marched up into the foothills of the mountains that lay west on Pollnivneach. The sun hung in the sky and shone brilliantly. But ███████, the Sun's daughter, could not be seen by Tumeken, the Sun. Neither did the people of Pollnivneach see her as she was leaving. They saw Sumona. A completely ordinary Kharidian woman. Her red hair and red eyes were unusual, yes. But it wasn't anything special. She wasn't a demon; she wasn't the Devourer; she wasn't the Scourge of the desert. She wasn't a murderer.

She was completely normal.

The hills eventually stopped and turned into a plateau. Here lived Ali the Hag, in a nice thick walled adobe house. The woman who everybody thought was Sumona came up to the door and knocked. "Alice? Are you there? I need to speak with you."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

myriadbeautiful

"It would be good, yes. Who ever made it happen would be doing the would a favor."

She took the deck from Sumona and started to turn over and lay out the cards on the table. First a cross, then a staff to the left of it.

From:

death_gone_mad

Well, this is different. Not a single card draw, then.

She spotted the tower turned on its head as the second card from the top of the staff.

Hello there. She grinned in recognition. We meet again.

From:

myriadbeautiful

Ali peeked at the card buried underneath the center of the cross.

"It is the six of staves, and it is reversed. It is the atmosphere surrounding the question. Fear of failure, fear of success."

A look of deep concern crossed Ali's face as she looked at Sumona. "What are you planning?"

Oh gods, the Mahjarrat.

From:

death_gone_mad

"Nothing."

Sumona smiled innocently.

From:

myriadbeautiful

Ali moved on to the card covering the six of staves. "Your obstacle. Nature. Balance. Compromise. Security. Those who would protect their family."

The nine of coins.

How can these be obstacles?

From:

death_gone_mad

Sumona's smile grew wider.

Guthix. This is turning out better than I expected.

From:

myriadbeautiful

Ali tapped the card at the top of the cross. Three of coins, reversed. "Your goal is imbalance?"

What the hell is happening?

From:

death_gone_mad

"I thought you said you didn't believe in this."

"Please go on."

From:

myriadbeautiful

At the bottom of the cross, the eight of swords, reversed. "You are doing this because you were betrayed?"

The right arm of the cross, left from Sumona's point of view, was the four of staves, reversed. "Oh, honey, who ever he was, he isn't worth it. You can't go against all the Mahjarrat, even in their weakened state."

From:

death_gone_mad

"So the cards told you that. What else do they say?" There was an angry edge to Sumona's voice.

From:

myriadbeautiful

And it scared Ali.

The other side of the cross? The hanged man. "The sacrifice. Indecision. Something you should embrace."

From:

death_gone_mad

"The sacrifice? There won't be one. They won't get away with sacrificing only one of their brethren. They will all be sacrificed."

From:

myriadbeautiful

She recoils a bit, but she is far too curious to stop the reading.

"The base of the staff represents your role in this. Its the ace of staves. Creativity, change, experimentation, and the appreciation of the beauty of people and nature."

It was the first 'good' card of the reading. "Does this mean anything to you?"

From:

death_gone_mad

She began to laugh, then moved on to a full cackle.

"Creative Expression!"

That silly looking fairy that she pulled out of Tower's deck was still fresh in her mind. What absurd, tiny wings! What absurd, tiny eyes!

The appreciation of the beauty of man. She had meant to usher in the age of mankind, and she had eliminated man's competition, at least in the desert, but why was it coming up now?

From:

myriadbeautiful

What?

"The card above represents the environment and the people you are working with. The three of stave, when reversed, describes dishonesty and conflict."

From:

death_gone_mad

"That sounds to me like a description of the mahjarrat. It doesn't describe you, does it Alice?"

From:

myriadbeautiful

She considered the question, then thought it better not to answer.

"Above that, is something unexpected, or perhaps your hopes, or your fears."

From:

death_gone_mad

"The Tower. Death. Destruction."

"Rebirth, restart." She mumbled the last part. It was both her hope and her fear.

From:

myriadbeautiful

"Not quite. It is reversed. It is a disaster avoided, a dramatic rescue, or a false alarm."

From:

death_gone_mad

It had all been good until now, and then, Tower.

"What is next?"

From:

myriadbeautiful

"The ultimate outcome if you pursue this course of action." She pointed to the page of cups, reversed. "Emotional excess, distraction, and seduction."